Notable events:

• Amnesty International: Vietnam Imposes At Least 122 Death Sentences in 2023
• EU Annual Report on Human Rights: Vietnam’s Civil Society Space ‘Shrinks Further’
• Khmer Krom Activist Denied Passport, Possibly Due to Activism for Indigenous Rights
• Russian Foreign Ministry: President Putin’s visit to Vietnam ‘At an Advanced State’

Amnesty International: Vietnam Imposes At Least 122 Death Sentences in 2023

In 2023, at least 1,153 executions occurred, and at least 2,428 death sentences were imposed in 52 countries worldwide, according to an Amnesty International report released on May 28. The London-based human rights advocacy group noted that at the end of 2023, at least 27,687 people around the world were subjected to capital punishment, a slight decrease from 2,016 recorded sentences in the previous year. At least 1,153 executions were documented in 16 countries last year, a 31% increase over the previous year (883 cases).

The report said that the use of the death penalty violates fundamental human rights, as protected under the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and that it deprives a person of his or her right to life and the right to live free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Amnesty International added that international law restricts the application of the death penalty to “the most serious crimes” and that “the death penalty is never the answer.”